[ExI] Capitalism 2.0 was Status as human motivator

[Keith Henson]

On Wed, Apr 27, 2011 at 12:39 PM, Jeff Davis <jrd1415 at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tue, Apr 26, 2011 at 11:49 PM, Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I used the term "hanging offense" and I mean it.  The current practices of that segment of the economy will ruin the US and any other country that permits this kind of gambling.  What Goldman Sachs did (and is still doing) is only a short step from what "Bernie" Madoff is in jail for.  There needs to be a *serious* overhaul of the laws to prevent the parasitic playing with paper and calling it "profits."  Capital needs to be *invested* in productive stuff, mining, manufacturing, energy utilities, public works and the like.
>
> Thank you Keith.  Perfectly stated and exactly right.

Glad you like it, though I am only stating the obvious.

> Computerized trading has made it possible to algorithmically analyze
> and manipulate trading activity and then parasitically "skim""profits"
> without any enhancement of productivity.  Gaming the system this way
> has always been around, but it may be that the computerized
> enhancement of this non-productive "profit skimming has reached a
> level that endangers the underlying productivity.
>
> ..."serious" overhaul of the laws...
>
> In spades.  Absolutely.  Immediately.  A transaction tax (ie every
> transaction taxed) would be a good place to start.  That would put a
> damper on the millisecond in-house trading activity (which feels like
> borderline-criminal manipulation and zero productivity to me)   I'd
> also like to see complete transparency in all trading, in house and
> out.  I would not be averse even to nationalizing the banking system
> -- investment and retail -- completely, just plain taking it out of
> the private sector.

That would take some careful thought to prevent abuse as bad as we
currently have.

On the other hand . . . possibly the transparency would be enough.  It
might also require capping the pay in some way, perhaps indexed to the
minimum wage.

> The long and ignoble history of thievery in the
> business of big money flows just begs for it.  Enough's enough.  The
> world economy is too important to the welfare of too many "regular"
> people to allow it to continue as a computerized rigged casino.
> That's not Capitalism, it's Cannibalism.

Bingo.

Keith

> Best, Jeff Davis
>
>    "Everything's hard till you know how to do it."
>                                   Ray Charles
>
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